—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Shio
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
‘It’s that bodyguard I saw back then.’
His appearance, reminiscent of a gangster’s sidekick, had stuck in my memory.
He was the one who had handed over the money when the big shot named the price.
I already knew why he had chased after me; I knew he was a Main.
‘Trying to recruit me just for catching one Ungbak?’
Their situation couldn’t be so urgent that they needed to recruit me immediately, so they must have recognized my potential.
It wasn’t good to stand out like this so soon.
Even though I wore a mask and altered my voice somewhat, they would eventually catch on.
‘At least I’ll be safe while I’m at the academy.’
Instead of worrying about a future that hadn’t yet happened, I focused back on the present.
“Urgh… ugh…”
The reason the Main was dying was due to excessive mana inhalation.
Mana tended to enter people before floating in the air.
So, when highly concentrated mana that had been sealed in a confined space was suddenly released, it entered the body of nearby mana users.
If the user couldn’t withstand that mana, their body would explode.
It wasn’t an explosion with flying fragments but an internal one with tremendous power. The sound alone could be mistaken for a cannon blast.
‘That’s why I made this attempt.’
If I had been a mana user, I would have long since ended up like him, slowly dying.
Because I couldn’t use or circulate mana, the highly concentrated mana outside couldn’t enter my body.
“Farewell.”
He must’ve been a low-level Main to be caught like this, so there was no need to extract information.
“Grrrrrr….”
Strangling the collapsed Main to death was easier than breaking a wooden chopstick.
A normal human might worry about disposing of the corpse, but since Mains turned into black powder and scatter immediately upon death, it wasn’t a concern.
The system rewarded me immediately after killing him.
With this, it was fair to say I had obtained everything I could during the one-week grace period.
Although a penalty was imposed, it wasn’t particularly painful, and in fact, it could hardly be considered a penalty.
‘Any honey will do, so…’
But why would such a penalty be imposed even if it was incurred?
And now, what remained were the spoils—the hide and claws.
These two would be processed inside the academy, so all my business was truly finished.
‘It was a close call with time.’
It took five days just to digest Ungbak’s internal organs.
If I had been any later, I would have had to rush into the academy without time to pack my belongings.
‘Let’s get ready and go.’
It was finally time to enter the academy.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Today, as the one-week grace period ended and regular classes were about to begin,
In the first-year S class, contrary to the fresh feeling of a new semester, a subtle, ominous atmosphere pervaded the classroom.
The cause was the conflict between nobles and commoners.
Although equality was pursued, it was unrealistic for class conflicts to disappear from day one.
Moreover, out of the 38 students in S class, only about ten were commoners, making the situation even worse.
With the weaker position being fewer in number, they felt pressured and watched even without doing anything special.
From the commoners’ perspective, this treatment was displeasing, so they responded by glaring back, which led to the ominous atmosphere.
While the 1st to 5th ranked students weren’t swept up in the tension and either sat quietly or fidgeted, the other students were different.
And they weren’t finished—they were waiting for one student who had yet to arrive.
‘Lee Seok-Hyun, when the hell is that bastard coming?’
Benras disliked Lee Seok-Hyun.
Not only did this seemingly unremarkable guy take 6th place, but he even gave the representative speech.
He was already displeased about being provoked by a commoner before the entrance exam, and now this happened.
His noble pride was on the verge of crumbling miserably.
‘The representative speech should have been given by Lord Belon or Lady Mijuran instead.’
He wanted to use perfect titles like “Your Highness” or “Princess,” but Mirinae Academy strictly prohibited this.
There was a rule that to achieve equality, titles had to be reformed from the ground up. But there was a workaround for this too.
Some people added the honorific “-nim” to names as a sign of “respect,” and Benras was one of them.
‘The authority of the nobility…’
He couldn’t believe that among the most notable 1st to 5th ranked students, only two could be called nobles.
In Meiri’s case, since she came from Shinmibi, nothing was known about her, so it was difficult to attach a title easily.
Therefore, on this day when the one-week grace period ended and regular classes were about to begin,
Benras planned to give a piece of his mind to the commoners in S class, especially to Lee Seok-Hyun, who represented them.
‘Well, Yu So-hyun and Woo Do-hyun… even though they’re commoners, they have the qualifications to be overlooked, but Lee Seok-Hyun really has nothing.’
In fact, this was a common thought shared by all the noble students in the first-year S class.
It was already displeasing that commoner-born Woo Do-hyun and Yu So-hyun were in the top ranks.
For Lee Seok-Hyun, who was no different from a complete nobody, to appear like a comet, take 6th place, and even give the representative speech?
This was absolutely unacceptable.
Therefore, not just Benras, but everyone in S class was eagerly waiting for Lee Seok-Hyun to appear in the classroom.
Some were even deliberately waiting near the door, intending to intimidate him as soon as he arrived.
Thud thud thud thud.
‘Here he comes.’
With everyone except Lee Seok-Hyun already present, if footsteps were heard in the corridor, it had to be Lee Seok-Hyun.
The instructor wouldn’t enter the classroom yet, and since S class used an entire building to itself, there was no reason for students from other classes to come.
Step step step step step, pause.
‘He’s here!’
Benras happily looked toward the door, imagining the moment when the students at the entrance would corner Lee Seok-Hyun.
‘Huh…?’
He froze, unable to say anything.
The guy who had shown no presence at all just days ago, had somehow become a fierce beast in the span of a week.
“Oh… wow, I’m really popular. Hello, everyone.”
Lee Seok-Hyun casually waved his hand and found his seat, disregarding the pouring gazes.
The plans to trip him on his way to his seat, to demand why he was 6th and gave the representative speech, all evaporated like lies.
Thump thump thump.
Not just a fierce beast, but a murderous aura as if he had killed several people.
Despite smiling brightly and waving his hand, there was an overwhelming pressure as if he might snap someone’s neck at any moment.
The ferocious energy of Ungbak, the mountain guardian bear, was too heavy a trial for a worldly innocent 17-year-old to endure.
Tremble tremble tremble.
As Lee Seok-Hyun slowly walked to the seat next to him, Benras lowered his head and tried not to make eye contact.
Was this how a rabbit felt in front of a lion?
“Oh, Benras, I look forward to working with you.
I’m Lee Seok-Hyun.”
At those words, Benras silently nodded and did his best to calm his trembling legs.
“I-I-I-I lo-look forward to working with you too.”
Benras painfully returned the greeting and made eye contact with Lee Seok-Hyun.
Peace suddenly descended upon the first-year S class as soon as Lee Seok-Hyun arrived.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Everyone’s so quiet.”
That was my first impression upon entering S class.
Originally, when playing as Lee Seok-Hyun, there was always a lot of turmoil about class conflicts and such.
This time, there was none of that. Everyone was quietly seated, which was quite nice.
The only downside was the lack of bustle, but I brushed it off as the first day of the new semester.
‘If Benras is 7th…everyone just got pushed down one rank.’
S class was exactly as I remembered from the information I had.
This meant there were no variables, and if that was the case, the first assignment was as good as predetermined.
‘This is partly why I spent 10 years training in the mountains.’
It was also why I had no choice but to arrive last, in preparation for this.
It would have been a very confusing class if I had faced the situation without any preparation.
While I was lost in these thoughts, the homeroom teachers for the first-year S class appeared at the podium.
“Hello, I’m Professor Lee Hwa-ryeong, in charge of magic for first-year S class.”
“Welcome. I’m Professor Gainad, in charge of martial arts for first-year S class.”
“Hello! I’m Professor Kerrar, in charge of other studies for first-year S class!”
The faculty was so impressive that their credentials were almost burdensome.
Most of the students’ jaws dropped at this special privilege only S class could enjoy.
It was understandable, given the incredible news that the representative professors would be in charge of just one class.
However, no one knew that this expectation was about to disappear completely and be replaced by despair.
“Mirinae Academy is a meritocracy that eliminates class conflicts and judges everything solely on ability. But there are always those who go against this ideology. They complain about why their skills are only at this level or how it makes sense to evaluate them based on a single test. We’ve prepared something for such people.”
As Gainad continued speaking, Lee Hwa-ryeong slowly created a magic circle on the floor.
This wasn’t happening only in S class but across the entire first-year.
As soon as the greetings ended, everyone except me looked at the professors with bewildered faces as events rapidly unfolded.
The professors continued their work, speaking regardless of these gazes.
“Are you dissatisfied with your abilities? Then defeat someone stronger than you. And prove that you’re not just at that level.”
The magic circle, which had started small, soon grew to fill the entire classroom and gradually began to emit light.
The students realized something was wrong when Kerrar, who had been squinting, showed his pupils.
A signal that it was too late, even if they had just noticed.
The magic circle already filled the floor beneath their feet.
“We will now begin the first class: survival. I hope you all have an enjoyable class time.”
Kerrar will explain the detailed rules after the transfer, so there’s no need to worry too much.
With those words, the magic circle on the floor brightened and teleported all the S class students without exception.
‘It begins.’
The survival game involving all first-year students across the school.
The curtain had now risen on this event.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[Shio here~!
Alright, that’s the first 20 chapters done! I’ll release the next 10 later. Especially since I’ve neglected “Being a Viking Isn’t Fun” in order to push this out for y’all.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and as usual, if you come across any grammar errors, ping Oihs in the Arcane Translations discord!]
